UFC 143 Results: What We Learned from Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa

In a wild three-round battle, Edwin Figueroa (8-1) walked away with a victory over Alex Caceres (6-5), but it wasn't a well-deserved one.

After three rounds, the judges scored it 28-27 Figueroa, 28-27 Caceres and 28-27 Figueroa.

What we'll remember from this fight:

There aren't too many instances in MMA when there have been two points taken away from a fighter for repeated fouls, but Caceres had them taken away after landing two nasty low blows in the first and second rounds.

The first one came just seconds into the first round. Referee Herb Dean issued a "strong warning" to Caceres.

In the second round, Caceres caught him again with an inside leg kick and was deducted two points after a lengthy delay.

What we learned about Edwin Figueroa:

Figueroa showed his toughness in this fight in more ways than one, but that was common knowledge from his UFC debut when he battled back-and-forth with bantamweight prospect Michael McDonald in a short-notice bout.

With the referee issuing the point deduction, he was almost guaranteeing Figueroa a victory if Caceres could not finish.

What we learned about Alex Caceres:

Caceres is improving as a fighter, but he continuously had dominant positions on the ground and was unable to finish his opponent. It wasn't the most technical fight, but it was one that he deserved to win, even with the point deduction.

He also was able to survive being knocked down by a head kick in the first round, only to reverse the position of being on his back and dominate his opponent for the remainder of the bout.

What's next for Figueroa:

Figueroa didn't look to impressive in victory, but the low blows have to be taken into consideration in regards to how he fought for the entire fight.

A bout vs. Roland Delorme, who is 6-1 in MMA and 1-0 in the UFC, will give him a chance to get a victory the way he wants.

What's next for Caceres:

A fight vs. Jared Papazian, who fell short versus Mike Easton at the last UFC on FX event, makes sense for him. Even with a loss, Caceres didn't fall in his status as an exciting and improving bantamweight fighter.